Longitudinally divided hinged insulating connector covers



Sept. 1, 1964 N. EKVALL ETAL 3,147,338

LONGITUDINALLY DIVIDED HINGED INSULATING CONNECTOR COVERS Filed Aug. 15, 1961' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 PIC-3.4

\INVENTORS HAROLD N. EKVALL JOHN M.WARNER BY ARCHIBALD T. FLOWER ATTORNEY p 1964 H. N. EKVALL ETAL 3,147,333

LONGITUDINALLY DIVIDED HINGED INSULATING CONNECTOR COVERS Filed Aug. 15. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS HAROLD N.EKVALL JOHN M. WARNER BY ARCHIBALD T. FLOWER ATTORNEY United States Patent 7 LONGITUDlNALLY DIVEDED GED INSULAT- 1N6 C(BNNECTQR COVERS Harold N. Eltvall, 2449 79th Ave, and John M. Warner, 326 W. Willow Grove Ave, both of Philadelphia, Pa.,

and Archibald '1. Flower, 2637 W. Church Road, Glenside Pa.

Filed Aug. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 131,543

11 Claims. ((31. 174-138) This invention relates to insulating enclosure for cable connectors and more particularly to two-section hinged covers providing an insulating enclosure for bare connections of insulated wiring.

In making taps to or connecting together the conduc- ,tors of insulated wiring construction, it is the usual practice to use solderless connectors such as clamp type tap connectors or compression type connectors. Insulation is removed from the conductors for a sufiicient length, the bared conductors are inserted into the connector and the connector is then suitably clamped or compressed on the conductors to make the desired connection.

In order to minimize possible shock and fire hazards, it is desirable to insulate these connections. Wrapping of insulating tape about such connections is expensive because it consumes a disproportionate amount of the linemans time. Snap-on telescoping covers made of resilient plastic material have been developed to supplant such taped insulation and have the advantage that they can be applied in seconds and thus provide substantial savings.

The telescoping plastic insulating covers of the prior art have several disadvantages. When the lineman is ready to apply the cover, it is inconveniently necessary that he select one of each of two distinct interfitting parts. Secondly, once these covers of the prior art have been applied, it is possible for the cover to slide or be pushed longitudinally along the conductors until the connector abuts the end of the cover. This defeats the insulating purpose of the cover by removing from the confines of the cover such bared portions of the conductors as may project beyond the connector and by exposing the connector itself to likelihood of contact with or flashover to external objects through the conductor access openings of the cover Finally, the covers of the prior art under some conditions of installation will accumulate water and in such case defeat the insulating purpose of the cover and promote corrosion.

It is an object of our invention to produce an insulating connector cover in which these disadvantages are remedied. 1

Another purpose of the invention is to provide an adjustable connector cover composed of resilient plastic material, comprising a pair of telescoping cover sections connected by integral flexible hinge strips.

A further. purpose of the invention is to produce a free-draining insulating connecting cover.

Still another purpose of the invention is to provide an insulating connector cover having centering means for maintaining a predetermined minimum longitudinal spacing between the connector and the end openings in the cover.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent from the ensuing description and claims, the following sets forth the details of construction and combination of parts of a specific embodiment of our invenfion which will be best understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tap connection cover of the invention, in a closed position. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 in open position, showing in phantom view a parallel- 3,147,338 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 groove tap connector connection disposed in the male section of the cover.

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of PEG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the tap connector shown in phantom view in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a compression sleeve connector cover modification of our invention in one of its closed positions.

. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 5 in open position, showing in phantom representation a compression sleeve line splice disposed in the male section of the cover.

FIG. 7 is a section on the line '77 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawing, the tap connector cover 10 of FIG. 1 is a unitary injection molding of resilient plastic material comprised of a lower male section 11, an upper female section 12 arranged for telescoping engagement with said section 11, and a pair of flexible hinge strips 13, 13 connecting the sections 11 and 12 and adapted to be opened for application to a wiring connection and to be closed thereon in one of the several positions of telescopic adjustment of the cover.

The sections 11 and 12 are thin-walled boxes of truncated rectangular pyramidal shape having respective parallelepipedal base portions 14 and 15, with portion 14 comprising respective end walls 17 and 19 and side walls 20 and 21. Each of the end Walls 17 and 19 is provided with a pair of slots 16 and 18 and 16 and 18, respectively, extending downwardly as viewed in FIG. 2, the two slots at each end being approximately centered to either side of an axial plane longitudinally bisecting section 11. The slot 16 in the end wall 17 is of U shape and is adjacent the side wall 21. The slot 18 is in the shape of a shallow rectangle having a U-shaped central portion extending downwardly thereof. Slot 13 does not extend as far down wall 17 as the slot 16 and its U-shaped portion is smaller than slot 16. The slots 16' and 18' in the opposite end wall 19 are identical with and longitudinally aligned with slots 16 and 18, respectively.

The side walls 20 and 21 of the base portion 14 have integrally formed on their external surfaces a plurality of regularly spaced parallel longitudinal ridges 22 extending substantially the full length of said side walls. The hinge strips 13 are integralwith the wall 21, each extending from the outer surface of said wall at a point near a respective end thereof and adjacent the adjoining pyramidal side wall 23.

'A pair of resilient thin-Walled plane spacing members 24 and 25, integrally attached to the inner side of the end wall 17 along lines 30 and 31, respectively, adjacent either side of the slot 16 and parallel to the pyramidal axis convergently extend for a short distance toward said axis. The inner edges 32 and 33, respectively, of members 24 and 25 are also parallel to the pyramidal axis and extend downwardly 'to meet the pyramidal end wall 34. The members 24 and 25 are integrally attached to the wall 34 along their lines of intersection therewith and terminate at their outward ends in the plane of the open end of section 11. The end wall 19 is similarly provided with an identical pair of spacing members'24' and 25 similarly adjacent the slot 16'.

. The female section 12 is similar to section 11, but its base'portion 15 is sufliciently larger in peripheral dimension to provide a telescoping fit over the portion 14 of sectionll. The side walls 40 and 41 of the portion 15 have integrally formed on their internal surfaces a plurality of spaced longitudinal ridges 42, similar to the ridges 22, which extend substantially the full length of side walls 40 and 41 and are adapted for interfitting engagement with ridges 22 and for coacting therewith to provide resiliently releasable tight latching union of said sections in any of a plurality of discrete axial positions of telescoping engagement.

The hinges 13, at their ends outward from their attachments to the section 11, are integrally attached to the outward surface of the wall 40 near its respective ends and adjacent to the adjoining pyramidal side wall 43. The portion 15 is provided with slots 16 and 16 identical with the slots 16 and 16' and longitudinally aligned therewith when sections 11 and 12 are in engagement, and with slots 18 and 18 identical with slots 18 and 18 and longitudinally aligned therewith when the sections are engaged.

Extending transversely across substantially the full width of wall 41 and formed therein adjacent each end thereof are respective outwardly projecting shallow oifsets or drainage channels 44. The channels 44 intermediately interrupt the ridges 42 on the inner surface of the wall 41 without however causing substantial impairment of latching engagement with the external ridges 22 of wall 20. The respective truncating bottom walls 45 and 46 of sections 11 and 12 are provided with four drainage apertures 47, one adjacent each corner.

The channels 44 may be open for drainage at both ends instead of being closed at their inward ends as illustrated in FIG. 1, or these channels may be replaced by apertures in side wall 41, similar to apertures 47, positioned at the location of the inward ends of channels 44.

The operation of this device is as follows:

An insulated service conductor 50 is electrically connected to a usually substantially larger insulated feeder or supply conductor 51 by a tap connection 52, shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, by means of a conventional parallel-groove tap connector 53. Sufficient insulation is removed from the conductors 50 and 51 to insert the bare portions of the conductors between the cap- 54 and the base 55 of the connector 53, and the bolt 56 is then tightened.

With the cover in the open position illustrated in FIG. 2, the connection 52 is placed in the section 11, the conductor 51 being disposed in the slots 16 and 16' and the smaller conductor 50 in the slots 18 and 18'. The convergent pairs of spacing members 24 and 25, and 24' and 25 are spread apart upon inserting conductor 51 in the slots, these members then resiliently engaging the conductor and acting as stops to limit the longitudinal movement of the cover 10 along the conductor 51 by abutting the connector 53.

The uninsulated connector 53 is thereby positively positioned more or less centrally between the ends of section 11 and the connector together with the adjacent uninsulated portions of the conductors 50 and 51 is thus maintained at a predetermined safe spacing inwardly from the slot openings. The female section 12 is then folded over and telescoped on the section 11 to the position of tightest latched interengagement of the ridges 22 and 42 consistent with the presence of the conductors in the slots. The relation of the sections 11 and 12 in one position of telescoping engagement is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The hinges 13 are of adequate strength, length and flexibility to withstand handling of the cover while in open position and to permit ready closing and telescoping of the cover sections to any of their interengageable positions. The function of the rectangular portions of the slots 18, 18, 18 and 18 is to provide a wide mouth for facile reception of the service conductor 50 in the U- shaped bottoms of these slots, particularly in slots 18 and 18 when section 12 is folded over on section 11.

As is readily understood from the foregoing, the cover 10 may be readily and conveniently applied to a tap connection such as connection 52 and similarly removed in a few seconds without the use of tools.

The connection 52 may be disposed with the conductors in horizontal relation as shown in FIG. 2, or

the conductors may be in vertical relation in which event the conductor 50 conventionally is below conductor 51. When the conductors are in' horizontal configuration the cover 10 is either in the position shown in FIG. 3 or in inverse relation thereto. In either case any precipitation entering the cover through any of the openings will drain out of the openings 47 which are at the bottom. When the conductors are in vertical configuration with conductor 51 above, the channels 44 will be at the bottom and permit complete drainage.

In the connector cover for a compression sleeve splice shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the cover 60, similarly to the cover 10, is a unitary injection molding of resilient plastic material comprising a lower male section 61 and an upper female section 62 connected together by a pair of flexible hinge strips 63, 63, the sections 61 and 62 being adapted for telescopic enclosure of a compression sleeve wiring connection, such as the connection 64 shown in broken lines in FIG. 6.

The sections 61 and 62 are thin-walled oblong boxes, the female section 62 being suitably larger in periphery to fit over the male section 61 in telescoping engagement therewith to form the enclosure. As viewed in FIG. 6, the front and rear end walls of section 61 are designated 65 and 66 and the left and right side Walls are designated 67 and 68, respectively. The end wall 65 is provided with a medially disposed =U-shaped slot 70 extending downwardly from the open face of section 61 to a short distance from the bottom wall 71 thereof.

The side walls 67 and 68 of section 61 have integrally formed on their external surfaces a plurality of regularly spaced parallel longitudinal ridges 72 extending substantially the full length of the side Walls. The hinge strips 63, which are similar to the hinges 13, are integral with the wall 67, each extending from the outward surface of said wall at a point near a respective end thereof and adjacent the bottom 71.

A pair of resilient thin-walled plane spacing members 73 and 74, integrally attached to the inward side of the end wall 65 along respective lines 75 and 76 disposed close to and on either side of slot 70 and perpendicular to the top edge of the wall 65, convergently extend longitudinally inward of section 61 for a short distance. The inward edges 77 and 78 respectively, of members 73 and 74, are parallel to lines 75 and 76 and extend'downwardly to meet the bottom wall 71. The members 73 and 74 are integrally attached to the wall 71 along their lines of intersection therewith and terminate at their outward ends in the plane of the open face of section 61. The rear end wall 66 is similarly provided with a slot 70' identical with slot 70 and longitudinally aligned therewith, and with an identical pair. of spacing members 73 and 7 4' similarly close to the slot 7 0'.

The side Walls 80 and 81 of the female section 62 have integrally formed on their internal surfaces a plurality of spaced longitudinal ridges 82, similar to the ridges 72, which extend substantially the full length of the side walls and are adapted for interfitting engagement with ridges 72 and for coacting therewith to provide resilient releasable latching union of the sections, similarly as described for the cover 10.

The hinges 63, at their ends outward from their attachments to section 61 are integrally attached to the outward surface of the wall 81 near its respective ends and adjacent to the bottom wall 83 of the section 62. The end walls of section 62 are provided with slots 70 and 70 identical with slots 70 and 70 and longitudinally aligned therewith when sections 61 and 62 are in engagement.

The respective bottom walls 71 and 83 of sections 61 and 62 are provided with drainage apertures 84, one in each corner.

The operation of the cover 60 is as follows:

With the cover open as in FIG. 6, the male-section 61 is pushed upwardly into engagement with the wiring connection 64 comprising a compression sleeve connector.

85 of conventional type compressed on the bared ends of insulated conductors 86 and '87. The respective conductors are disposed in the slots 70 and 70 and between the associated convergent pairs of spacing members 73 and 74 and 73 and 74' which were suitably forced apart by the conductors when they entered the slots, these members then resiliently engaging the conductors and acting as stops to limit the longitudinal movement of the cover 69 with respect to the connector 85 against the ends of which they would abut, similarly as in the cover 10.

The female section 62 is thenfolded over and telescoped on the section 61 to the position of tightest latched interengagement of the ridges 72 and 82 consistent with the presence of the conductors in the slots. The relation of the sections 61 and 62 in one position of telescoping engagement is shown in FIGS. and 7.

The drainage apertures 84 permit complete drainage of any precipitation which may enter the cover through any of the openings, no matter what the position of the cover 60.

Although the foregoing has described insulating covers having a pair of hinge strips connecting the male and female sections which has the advantage of facilitating alignment of the sections, it is to be understood that a single more or less centrally disposed hinge may be used instead.

Although in both of the embodiments of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, the resilient spacing members 24, 25, 24, 25', 73, 74, 73' and '74 are shown as attached to the end walls and to the bottom of the enclosure, it will be appreciated that they may be attached in various ways to one or more walls located generally at the end portion of the connector cover.

It is also to be understood that where it is only necessary to provide for single sizes of conductor rather than for a plurality of conductor sizes, our insulating covers. may have a single longitudinal ridge on each of the side portions of the male and female sections instead of the previously described plurality of such ridges, in which case the female section single ridges snap over the male section single ridges to provide forcibly releasable latching engagement of the sections in a predetermined position. t

Although our invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, as other embodiments will be evident to those skilled in the art, as well as obvious modifications in construction and arrangement of parts, Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. An insulating cover for an electrical wiring connection comprising a unitary enclosure of resilient plastic material having male and female telescopically engageable thin-walled open box sections connected by a flexible hinge strip, said sections having fiat longitudinal side portions and in open position being arranged side-by-side with respective adjacent side portions connected by said hinge strip, said hinge strip permitting said female section to be folded over from the open position into closed overlapping engagement with said male section, forcibly releasable latching means comprising a plurality of longitudinal spaced ridges on the external surfaces of the side portions of said male section and a plurality of ridges on the internal surfaces of the side portions of said female section interengageable with said male section ridges to provide a plurality of latched positions of telescopic engagement of said sections, the end walls of each of said sections having 'U-shaped slots disposed in longitudinal alignment when said cover is in closed position providing access openings for the wiring to a connector to be enclosed in said cover, whereby said cover may be selectively latched into tight engagement on one of a plurality of predetermined sizes of wiring conductors, and said male sec tion having at each end a pair of resilient spacing members integral with the end wall and adjacent each side of the cable receiving slot and extending in a longitudinally convergent direction from the inward surface of the respective end wall, whereby upon the wiring connection being placed within the male section and the conductor extending from one end of the connector being pushed into the respective male section slot, the members associated therewith are forced apart and resiliently engage said conductor and act as a stop to limit the longitudinal movement of the connector by abutting engagement therewith. 7

2. The cover of claim 1 in which each pair of mem: bers is also integral with a male section wall which is connected to the associated end wall at an angle therewith.

3. The cover of claim 2 in which each corner of the bottom wall of each of said sections of the cover is provided with a drainage aperture.

4. An insulating cover for an electrical wiring connec tion comprising a unitary enclosure of resilient plastic material having male and female telescopically engageable thin-walled open box sections generally of truncated rectangular pyramidal shape connected by a plurality of flexible hinge strips, said sections having fiat longitudinal side portions and in open position being arranged side-byside with respective adjacent side portions parallel and connected by said hinge strips, said hinge strips permitting said female section to be folded over from the open posi tion into closed overlapping engagement with said male section, forcibly releasable latching means comprising a plurality of longitudinal spaced ridges on the external surfaces of the side portions of said male section and a plurality of ridges on the internal surfaces of the side portions of said female section interengageable with said male section ridges to provide a plurality of latched positions of telescopic engagement of said sections, the end walls of each of said sections having U-shaped slots transversely off-centered toward the side portions which are connected by said hinge strips and disposed in longitudinal alignment when said cover is in closed position and each end wall of each said section having a second U- shaped slot adjacent the respective first-mentioned slot disposed in longitudinal alignment when said cover is in closed position, said slots providing access openings for the wiring to a connector to be enclosed in said cover, whereby said cover may be selectively latched into tight engagement on one of a plurality of predetermined sizes, of wiring conductor, said male section having at each end a pair of resilient spacing members integral with the end wall and adjacent each side of said first-mentioned cable receiving slot extending in a longitudinally convergent direction from the inward surface of the respective end wall, each of said pairs of members being also integral with a male section wall which is connected to the as sociated end wall at an angle therewith, whereby upon the wiring connection being placed within the male section and a conductor extending from one end of the connector being pushed into a respective male section first-mentioned slot, the members associated therewith are forced apart and resiliently engage said conductor and act as a stop to limit the longitudinal movement of the conductor by abutting engagement therewith, the bottom walls of each of said sections being provided with a drainage aperture at each corner, and said female section having drainage means formed in its side portion opposite the hinged side to provide drainage of precipitation when said cover is disposed hinged side up.

5. The cover of claim 4 in which said drainage means comprises a plurality of outwardly projecting offsets in and extending transversely across said side portion opposite the hinged side of the female section.

6. An insulating cover for an electrical wiring connection comprising a unitary enclosure of resilient plastic material having two matable box-like sections connected by a flexible hinge strip which permits said sections to be folded together to form an enclosure, the end walls of each of said sections having generally U-shaped slots providing access openings for the conductors of a connection to be enclosed in said cover, said sections having forcibly releasable means for securing said sections together, and one of said sections having longitudinal end portions each provided with a resilient spacing member attached to a Wall of said end portion adjacent a side of the cable receiving slot and extending in a longitudinal and inward direction generally toward the longitudinal center of the. section and generally toward each other.

7. An insulating cover for an electrical wiring connection comprising a unitary enclosure of resilient plastic material having two generally similar thin-walled boxlike sections connected by a flexible hinge strip, said sections having substantially flat longitudinal side portions and in open position being arranged side-by-side with respective adjacent side portions connected by said hinge strip, said hinge strip permitting said sections to be folded together to form an enclosure, the end walls of each of said sections having generally U-shaped slots disposed in longitudinal alignment when said cover is in closed position providing access openings for the conductors of a connection to be enclosed in said cover, said sections having forcibly releasable interengageable latching means integral with the respective longitudinal sides opposite said hinges, and one of said sections having longitudinal end portions each provided with a resilient spacing member attached to a wall of said end portion adjacent a side of the cable receiving slot and extending in a longitudinal and inward direction generally toward the longitudinal center of the section and generally toward each other.

8. The cover of claim 7 in which said spacing members are respectively integrally attached to the inward surface of the section wall opposite the open side of the respective section. I v i 9. The cover of claim 7 having a plurality of spaced hinge strips.

10. An insulating cover for an electrical wiring connection' comprising a unitary enclosure of resilient plastic material having'male and female telescopically engageable thin-walled open box sections connected by two hinge strips, said sections having fiat longitudinal side portions and in open position being arranged sidebyside with respective adjacent side portions parallel and connected by said hinge strips, each said hinge strip being disposed adjacent a respective end of said hingedly connected side portions, said hinge strips permitting said female section to be folded over from the open position into closed overlapping engagement with said male section, forcibly releasable latching means comprising a plurality of longitudinal spaced ridges on the external surfaces of the side portions of said male section and a plurality of ridges on the internal surfaces of the side portions of said female section interengageable with said male section ridges to provide a plurality of latched positions of telescopic engagement of said sections, said hinge strips being of sufiicient length to permit positioning said male and female sections in their outermost latched position of engagement, the end walls of each of said sections having U-shaped slots disposed in longitudinal alignment when said cover is in closed position providing access openings for the wiring to a connector to be enclosed in said cover, whereby said cover may be selectively latched into tight'engagement on one of a plurality of predetermined sizes of wiring conductor, said male section having at each end a pair of resilient spacing members integral with the end wall and adjacent each side of the cable receiving slot extending in a longitudinally convergent direction from the inward surface of the respective end wall, each of said pairs of members being also integral with a male section wall which is connected to the associated end wall at an angle therewith, whereby upon the wiring connection being placed within the male section and the conductor extending from one end of the connector being pushed into the respective male section slot, the members associated therewith are forced apart and resiliently engage said conductor and act as a stop to limit the longitudinal movement of the connector by abutting engagement therewith, and the bottom walls of each of said sections being provided with a drainage aperture at each corner.

11. The cover of claim 7 in which each spacing member is integrally attached to the respective end wall of the section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,065,315 Keath Dec. 22, 1936 2,333,266 Miller Nov. 2, 1943 2,670,870 Fleischer Mar. 2, 1954 2,894,056 Bogese July 7, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 117,776 Austria May 26, 1930 

6. AN INSULATING COVER FOR AN ELECTRICAL WIRING CONNECTION COMPRISING A UNITARY ENCLOSURE OF RESILIENT PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING TWO MATABLE BOX-LIKE SECTIONS CONNECTED BY A FLEXIBLE HINGE STRIP WHICH PERMITS SAID SECTIONS TO BE FOLDED TOGETHER TO FORM AN ENCLOSURE, THE END WALLS OF EACH OF SAID SECTIONS HAVING GENERALLY U-SHAPED SLOTS PROVIDING ACCESS OPENINGS FOR THE CONDUCTORS OF A CONNECTION TO BE ENCLOSED IN SAID COVER, SAID SECTIONS HAVING FORCIBLY RELEASABLE MEANS FOR SECURING SAID SECTIONS TOGETHER, AND ONE OF SAID SECTIONS HAVING LONGITUDINAL END PORTIONS EACH PROVIDED WITH A RESILIENT SPACING MEMBER ATTACHED TO A WALL OF SAID END PORTION ADJACENT A SIDE OF THE CABLE RECEIVING SLOT AND EXTENDING IN A LONGITUDINAL AND INWARD DIRECTION GENERALLY TOWARD THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER OF THE SECTION AND GENERALLY TOWARD EACH OTHER. 